


We can touch the sky (but only together)

by latias_likes_pizza



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Ardyn is his own warning, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Past Child Abuse, Wings AU, friendship is awesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-29
Updated: 2017-06-29
Packaged: 2018-11-21 05:47:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11351145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/latias_likes_pizza/pseuds/latias_likes_pizza
Summary: Everybody on Eos had wings.Prompto's were ugly and freaky and wrong.





	We can touch the sky (but only together)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kestrealbird](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kestrealbird/gifts).



> This is written for Tea, who adopted me over Discord. Love ya British Mum!
> 
> (She came up with the ideas for this AU and I couldn't help but write it)

i.

It’s only when Prompto is eight that he realised exactly how _freaky_ he was.

It was when the school bullies didn’t give him enough time to escape into the toilets to change for PE. Instead they cornered him and yanked his shirt over his head, exposing his back for all to see. And that’s when all the laughter started and it was too much, too much!

They saw his wings.

Everybody had wings in some shape or form. The common bird wings. The rarer butterfly or insect wings. And some in the noble circles even had wings made of fire or ice or light. The royal family had wings that looked like they were made of stained glass. Some even said that there was one family line who had the ability to merge their wings with their backs, making them look like tattoos.

Prompto had feathered wings like most people in his class. But his wings were… they were wrong. Wrong and freaky. The colours were all messed up, like somebody had haphazardly dyed white wings with black. They were small and weak, missing feathers. Some of his feathers were torn. His right wing was bent out of shape and it looked like an entire chunk was missing from his left.

He started sobbing as the bullies pulled at them. The wings were already sensitive and sore and all the roughness was making them hurt even more. Prompto tried to pull away, tried to curl up into a ball and hide from the pain. They wouldn’t let him. They just kept laughing and pulling.

“Freak!”

“Monster!”

“ _Daemon_!”

A teacher heard and broke it up, pulling Prompto away. He looked up to see the look of shock and disgust on his teacher’s face and it made him want to cry some more. The school nurse knew about his wings but she didn’t know how to stop the pain from all the pulling. They sent him home and thankfully Prompto’s parents were there that night. They tell him that he should hide his _freaky_ wings better, maybe bind them again.

Wincing and sobbing, Prompto tied the thick rope around his wings again, like he used to.

~~Because he doesn’t know that binding is illegal and his parents never bothered to tell him~~

* * *

 

ii.

He’s fifteen when somebody else sits out of flight class with him.

Prompto couldn’t fly. He never would be able to fly. His wings were too small, too weak. Too _broken_. So when everybody else was practising safe flight in busy areas and learning the Code of the Sky, Prompto sat on a bench somewhere and tried not to think about flying.

One day, his new friend, his only friend, sat next to him.

“The doctors at the citadel still want to monitor when I fly,” Noctis explained, before Prompto could ask. “It’s because of the injury I got when I was younger. They keep telling me that in a couple of months I’ll be fine to start flying outside of their supervision.”

That made sense.

Noctis never asked why Prompto sat out and Prompto never replied beyond a mumbled ‘health reasons’. He didn’t push it any further and Prompto was glad for that. Noctis was his only friend and he didn’t want to lose him. Showing him his freaky wings would only result in rejection and ridicule. That much Prompto knew.

A few more missed flight classes later and Noctis decided to show Prompto his wings. They weren’t the largest Prompto had ever seen but they were certainly the most beautiful. Three overlapping layers of wings that looked like stained glass, each layer a varying shade of blue. They looked magical, ethereal. They were _beautiful_.

“Dude, you have three pairs,” Prompto blurted out.

Noctis looked at him funny for a moment before speaking. “Most people comment on the colours and the looking like glass thing.”

“Don’t get me wrong, that’s beautiful, but three pairs. That’s so lucky! I knew it was possible but I’ve never seen it,” Prompto said. “Your speed must be _insane_.”

Silence.

Noctis laughed.

“Yeah, it is,” he said.

They spend the rest of class talking about famous speed fliers. At the end, Noctis admitted that since having three pairs or layers was heard of, most people dismiss it in favour of the unusual appearance of his wings. He said that he was kinda glad that Prompto had latched onto that instead because it was much more interesting to talk about.

Something about the experience made Prompto realise that he and Noctis were going to be good friends.

~~And he’s torn because part of him wants to show Noctis his wings. He doesn’t because he couldn’t handle rejection.~~

* * *

 

iii.

Sixteen. The first time that Prompto had gone to the Citadel with Noctis. There were some many different types of wings and Prompto’s photographer brain raced, thinking of different ways he could capture each and every unique pair he saw. Noctis was understanding, letting him walk slowly as he took in the sights. Prompto had wondered whether Noctis realised that he wasn’t looking at the architecture but all the wings.

A young girl, later introduced as Iris Amicitia, walked past. Her wings had flowers layered over the feathers. The Marshal of the Crownsguard, _Cor the Immortal_ , he had wings made of metallic spikes. Some councilman had wings that even folded dragged to the floor. It was all very impressive… and it made Prompto hate his stupid, pathetic wings even more.

Out of all the new wings he saw that day, there were two pairs that stood out.

Prompto had met both Ignis and Gladio since he had become friends with Noctis. The two were wary of him, which was understandable. He was some kid on a scholarship who had suddenly befriended the Crown Prince. And if the pair knew about his freaky wings or that he was a ‘stupid Niff’ (as his parents used to remind him, before their times away got even longer) they wouldn’t let Noctis anywhere near him.

He saw their wings in the training yard.

“Dad recommended that you should get some kind of defence training,” Noctis said. “It’s because you’re hanging out with a prince now and people might use you to get to me. So, he wants you to train.”

Prompto nodded. “Sounds fair.”

“You’re good at shooting stuff in the arcade, so maybe guns?” Noctis suggested, pulling Prompto towards a shooting range.

Shooting a real gun wasn’t too hard. Prompto managed to quickly get the hang of it. While he was hitting all the targets, Ignis and Gladio entered the yard. They quickly greeted him and Noctis before going off to their own training. Gladio went over to the weights while Ignis was using machinery to get these weird hoops to hang from the ceiling.

Prompto saw Gladio’s wings first. The Shield had decided to weightlift shirtless. At first, Prompto thought that he was unfortunate to have been born wingless. There no wings protruded from his back, only a large tattoo curling around his body. For all intents and purposes, wingless. Then Prompto noticed something strange. He’d seen people weightlift before, plenty of times at the gym. He’d seen how people’s muscles shifted around their wings. And Gladio’s muscles were shifting strangely, around something.

Oh.

“Nice wings!” Prompto called out.

Gladio put the weights down and turned to him. “You figured them out?”

“Yeah. Your muscles move and shift as if they’re hiding something underneath and only around the feathers of your tattoo,” Prompto replied.

“Sharp, Blondie,” Gladio said, giving him an approving smile.

His back rippled and Prompto watched in awe as the tattoo began to peel from his skin, folding out into large, powerful wings. Gladio grinned at him before taking off into the air. And that was when Prompto saw Ignis’s wings, right as he flew through the moving hoops.

There were red feathers at the joint but they started to give way to orange, gold, and _fire_. Fiery wings were carrying Ignis through the hoops. Noctis laughed when he saw Prompto’s mouth hanging open. Ignis flew through a few more hoops before landing directly in front Noctis and Prompto. Against Prompto’s better judgement, he reached forwards to touch the fire of Ignis’s wings.

It didn’t burn.

“They only burn when I want them to,” Ignis said, reading the question on his face. “It’s still not wise to touch them.”

“Sorry!” Prompto quickly pulled his hand away. “Must be useful for combat. You could trick your enemy into thinking they won’t burn and then catch them off-guard later.”

“Indeed,” Ignis said.

Something shifted. Gladio and Ignis suddenly seemed more approving of him. Maybe Prompto had just reacted to their wings in a way they hadn’t expected. Maybe it was because they saw he was okay with a gun. Whatever it was, Prompto was pretty sure he could now say he had more than one friend. And the great thing about these friends is that even though he’d seen all of their heavily impressive wings, they never asked to see his.

~~It’s great because theirs are beautiful and his are wrong~~

* * *

 

iv.

He had to show somebody his wings when he was twenty.

Noctis had invited him to go on this trip to Altissia and the training he was taking for the Crownsguard had to be accelerated to accommodate this. Everything was going fine. Prompto was doing well in hand-to-hand and with his guns. The Marshal had been keen on improving his proficiency with ranged weapons, since none of the others were ranged fighters themselves.

But then it all went wrong.

“Flight combat is an essential part of your training,” Cor said.

His parents obviously never updated his medical records. Neither had the school nurse it seemed. And this was just fucking great because now it meant that the Immortal didn’t know about his wings and was expecting him to undergo flight training. Prompto shifted around nervously. Was his back hurting a little more than normal?

There was no way out of this. He’d have to tell Cor.

“I can’t,” Prompto said, looking at his feet.

“Why not?” Cor asked.

“They’re…” Prompto hesitated. “They’re damaged.”

“There’s nothing on your medical records,” Cor said. “Is this just a temporary injury?”

“No, it’s…” Prompto really didn’t know what to say.

Cor sighed. “Show me.”

Squeezing his eyes shut, Prompto slowly pulled his t-shirt over his head. He winced as he unfurled his _freaky_ wings a little. He didn’t dare open his eyes, didn’t dare look at the disgusted face Cor was sure to be pulling. He flinched when a hand touched his shoulders.

“It’s alright.” That hadn’t been what he was expecting. Prompto opened his eyes, not prepared to see the kind look Cor was giving him. “How long have they been like this?”

“Forever,” Prompto replied. “Hey, if you don’t want me going with Noctis then-”

“I’m not pulling you from the trip.” Prompto frowned in confusion as Cor spoke. “You’re a capable fighter. I’d be stupid to pull you out over this. You just won’t be able to take part in aerial combat, that’s all.” Cor leaned back into his chair. “I’m not going to ask you too much about them. You’re clearly uncomfortable. But I will ask this: do the others know?”

Prompto shook his head.

“You’ll have to tell them. I won’t do it for you. This has to be on your terms.”

“I know.”

~~He’s terrified~~

* * *

 

v.

Twenty still. Cor had been kind but that didn’t mean the others would take the reveal so well. They were meeting up at Noctis’s apartment, to pack it all up, and Prompto knew that now was the time to show them. It was a terrifying thought. But if he did it now, it would be on his terms. Better than something going wrong on the trip and them finding out by accident.

It was still terrifying.

He sat on Noctis’s bed, the others talking about something. Prompto was tuning it out, trying to focus on his breathing and working up the courage to talk to them. He was about to speak up when Ignis addressed him directly.

“Speaking of training, Prompto, how was the aerial training?” he asked.

Now or never. “Actually, I need to tell you guys something.”

All the attention was on him. Prompto got up from the bed, painfully aware that the others were still looking at him. He shrugged off his jacket and took a deep breath before pulling his t-shirt up. Much like when he’d shown Cor, he kept his eyes shut and waited for the others to speak.

Noctis was first. “This is why you’ve never shown them to us.”

“Yeah.”

“They look like they’ve been bound,” Ignis said.

“They have been,” Prompto replied.

“Who did this to you?!” The ferocity in Ignis’s voice threw Prompto a little. “Binding wings, unless in a medical emergency, is illegal. _Who did this to you_? They cannot go unpunished.”

“I-I did,” Prompto stuttered. “My parents told me to when I was younger, said it would make them easier to hide because they’re _freaky_ and _wrong_ and-!”

He’s cut off when Gladio slammed his fist into the wall. He stared at some unfixed point, looking ready to stab somebody.

“Your parents told you that? Your own _parents_?” Gladio muttered. “That’s just sick.”

It felt wrong. Prompto had expected shock and disgust, not this anger at his parents. And he didn’t expect Noctis reaching out and tentatively stroking his feathers, something that you only did when you were really close to somebody. The contact made Prompto flinch, remembering when he was younger and bullies would pull at the wings.

Noctis didn’t look like he was going to pull them.

“You guys… aren’t disgusted?” Prompto asked.

“Of course not!” Noctis exclaimed, his own wings shifting. “Why would we be?”

“Because, because… they’re just _wrong_ ,” Prompto replied, trying to fold his wings without hurting himself. “They’ve always been like this. I’ve always… I…”

“We won’t push you,” Ignis said. “If you don’t want to talk about them, that’s fine.”

It felt too good to be true.

“Do they hurt?” Noctis asked quietly.

“What?” Prompto mumbled.

“Do they hurt?” Noctis repeated, reaching for them again. “You keep flinching. You… I’m a terrible friend. You’re always flinching and struggling and I knew there was _something_ up with your wings but I never… I never asked. I never tried to help. I didn’t know what to say or do.”

“Hey, I’ve been trying to hide these my entire life. You’re not a bad friend,” Prompto replied. “And… yeah. They do hurt. All the time.”

“If you…” Gladio took a breath before speaking again. “Hey, you need anything on the trip, let us know. Those can’t be fun.”

“Indeed. Anything at all, Prompto,” Ignis said.

It’s too much and Prompto tried his best to stop crying. But he hadn’t expected so much love and care. It’s nice. It’s amazing.

~~It’s almost enough to make him tell them about the barcode and the country of his birth but he can’t because they may have accepted his wings but that they’ll never accept that~~

* * *

 

vi.

Insomnia falls and it all went to hell.

They didn’t make it to Altissia before the Fall. Then Cor told them about the Royal Arms and so much happened so quickly. Everyday became hunting, fighting, and surviving. It was an adjustment from their relatively comfortable lives in the Crown City.

During a fight, Prompto was forced to confront his fears. Ever since he was little, he had been afraid of heights. He couldn’t fly, couldn’t rescue himself. If he fell off something, there was a high chance he’d either end up paralysed or dead. But a fight had him forced up onto a high, rocky ledge, staring down a coeurl.

It launched at Prompto and he stumbled backwards, falling off the ledge. He closed his eyes and waited for impact, only to be confused when it never came. Prompto opened his eyes to see Ignis holding him, wings blazing bright. He gently landed while Noctis took out the coeurl.

Everyone was willing to help him out. Somebody would always climb with him to places that would usually require fight. At night, Noctis would always massage his painful back, helping him relax. Gladio would help him adjust his feathers so he was more comfortable. Ignis had found exercise online for people with broken wings and helped Prompto adapt them so he could stretch the muscles out and hopefully get rid of the strain.

Ignis catching him just let Prompto know that they would be willing to help him with anything. Anything at all.

~~Gods was he so grateful for it.~~

* * *

 

vii.

Prompto shared three things in common with MTs. A barcode on his right wrist, a face, and damaged wings. Most MTs would even have theirs cut off before being placed into their armour. Long ago, Prompto considered cutting his wings off. He would have done it if he hadn’t been so scared of the pain.

Aranea, with her powerful and draconic wings, had told him to fly to a rendezvous point. Prompto had broken down at that, everything just getting to him.

“I can’t fly! I’m a fucking MT with stupid fucking wings that ugly and wrong and _broken_!” he screamed at her.

She directed him to a snowmobile instead.

After, when Verstael and Immortalis had been destroyed and Prompto had started making his way to Gralea, Ardyn captured him.

Prompto never thought he’d see wings that looked more _wrong_ than his. Mismatched layers, feathers, scales, and torn insect wings, all the colour of coal. They were broken and disjointed and thoroughly wrong. For once in his life, Prompto was grateful for his tiny, broken wings. At least they weren’t as messed up as the creepy chancellor’s.

When Ardyn saw Prompto staring, he broke the bones in both his wings.

~~“Solidarity in monsters.”~~

* * *

 

viii.

Being tied to a metal cross _hurt_. It would have been bad enough if Ardyn had left his wings alone but the new breaks were making everything even more painful. Prompto had lived in pain his entire life and this was definitely the worst physical pain he had ever been in. The emotional pain could have been worse; he did find out that he was the clone of a mad scientist and should have been turned into a MT only a day or two before.

But then lights flickered across his face and there were three voices shouting his name out. Prompto looked up to see Noctis, Ignis, and Gladio all running at him. Noctis frantically started fiddling with the straps on the cross, trying to let them out. They released and Prompto fell forwards, crying out in pain when Gladio’s arm knocked against his wings.

They checked that he was okay.

He wasn’t but that was pretty obvious.

He asked Noctis if he had been worried about him.

Noctis reassured him that he was.

It was very clear that Prompto needed to rest so they helped him over to the nearest safe room. There, Noctis was slamming potions into him, trying to heal the injuries Ardyn had given him. They didn’t help entirely but Prompto at least knew that he’d be able to fight. He was used to pain at least. When he said as much, everyone looked horrified.

Thing was, it didn’t hurt so much anymore. Maybe he’d finally gotten to the point where he was numb to it, maybe it was because he’d been through so damn much in the past week.

And he had his friends now. Friends who had accepted him, wings and all, and had done everything they could to show him the love and care that he’d been denied all his life. Friends that, later, when he showed them his barcode and told them what he really was, hadn’t cared. Friends that insisted that he was one of them, no matter once.

Prompto had never flown in his life.

But being with his _family_ made him feel like he could.

After all, ‘ever at your side’ went both ways.


End file.
